Tornado Archive

EF0 tornado on Apr. 03, 2002 12:32 PM EST

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been tracking tornadoes for decades. This interactive map, which contains data from January 1950 to February 28, 2019, pinpoints where a cyclone touched down and traces its path of destruction. For more recent tornadoes, clicking deeper provides more details, damage estimates and whether someone was injured or killed in the storm.

Summary

An upper-level disturbance, combined with warm and humid air near the surface, helped form a broken line of strong to severe thunderstorms over west central Florida, which propagated east through the area during the late morning and early afternoon hours. The event featured marginal severe wind gusts and some hail.Dime size hail fell at the intersection of Lois Avenue and Broad Street in the Pinecrest section of Tampa shortly after 11 AM. Winds intensified as the line organized farther inland, causing sporadic damage in Polk, Hardee, and Highlands Counties. The strongest cells were in Hardee County. A small tornado was witnessed by law enforcement officials near Zolfo Springs, with minor tree damage in a wooded area. Numerous small, and several large, tree limbs were downed in Zolfo Springs along West 66th Street, and dime size hail was reported, shortly after 1230 PM. In Polk County, observed 58 mph winds at Lakeland's Linder Field were followed by blown down large limbs and power lines in the city proper. A woman sustained a neck injury when a large limb crashed onto the roof of her vehicle. Several hundred customers were briefly without power after the storm. Other tree and line damage, including a few uprooted oaks, was noted from a separate storm cell in Fort Meade. Dime size hail was reported near Bartow and in downtown Lakeland. Most of the activity occurred in the county between noon and 1230 PM.As the line continued moving southeast, more damage was reported in Avon Park and Sebring (Highlands Co) around 1 PM. Gusty winds blew a carport roof off an Apartment Building along Lakeview Road in Sebring. Fallen trees also blocked vehicle access along a rural road (CR 634) in Highlands Hammock S.P. near Avon Park.